
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

All Creatures
Abilities | Monsters | NPCs
All | Families | Templates
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Prairie Drake

These squat, mud-brown drakes resemble scaly pit bulls with blunt, toothy snouts. The desert drake is the prairie drake's closest known relative, as both share a strong affinity for earth, can burrow through soil, and hack up balls of dirt that they aim at enemies. But whereas a desert drake is sleek and nimble, flying through lightning storms and siroccos with ease, the prairie drake has all the grace of a chicken, barely able to flutter clumsily up a low hill or over a boulder. Owing to their largely vestigial wings, it's no wonder prairie drakes prefer burrowing over soaring.

The average prairie drake has a temperament similar to that of a wicked child who delights in tormenting others. They ambush tiny animals from underground and play with their food thoroughly before eating. To assert their supremacy over other scrubland predators, prairie drakes knock down their rivals and attack them mercilessly. They often make grisly displays from the corpses of their foes to intimidate other would-be competitors.

Prairie drakes build and live in burrow mounds just beneath the surface of their environs. They make shallow tunnels in search of large insects, rodents, and ground snakes. Prairie drakes' presence helps to turn the topsoil and encourage new plant growth, supporting other animal life and making them a keystone species for the environment. Even their breath weapon leaves behind rich “drake soil,” coveted by farmers and gardeners for the potent effects it has on plants. Being seen as “useful” or “beneficial” annoys most prairie drakes, who believe such a reputation makes them look weak and conflicts with their “apex predator” mystique. After they've gotten too much positive attention, a prairie drake is apt to murder a farm animal or destroy croplands only to prove that they're far from harmless.

Recall Knowledge - Dragon (Arcana): DC 18
Unspecific Lore: DC 16
Specific Lore: DC 13

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Weak are marked in red below.
NOTE: The -2 damage penalty to non-strike offensive abilities (-4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Weak Prairie DrakeCreature 1

Legacy Content

Uncommon NE Small Dragon Earth 
Source Pathfinder #178: Punks in a Powderkeg pg. 87
Perception +6; tremorsense 30 feet (imprecise)
Languages Draconic
Skills Acrobatics +4, Athletics +7, Intimidation +3, Survival +4
Str +3, Dex +2, Con +4, Int -2, Wis +2, Cha +1
AC 16; Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +4
HP 26; Immunities paralyzed, sleep; Resistances electricity 4
Speed 25 feet, burrow 20 feet, fly 10 feet
Melee [one-action] jaws +7 [+2/-3], Damage 1d6-2+6 piercing plus GrabMelee [one-action] wing +7 [+3/-1] (agile, finesse), Damage 1d6-2+3 slashingDirt Breath [two-actions] (arcane, earth, evocation) The prairie drake spits a ball of dirt that explodes into a shower of rocks and mud. The attack has a range of 30 feet and explodes in a 5-foot radius burst. Creatures within the burst take 3d6 bludgeoning damage (DC 14 basic Reflex save). Plant creatures in the area take no damage on a successful save; regardless, once per day, plant creatures can spend 10 minutes in the area to absorb the nutrients and heal 1d8 Hit Points. The prairie drake can't use Dirt Breath again for 1d6 rounds.Draconic Frenzy [two-actions] The prairie drake makes one jaws Strike and two wing Strikes in any order.Speed Surge [one-action] Frequency three times per day; Effect The prairie drake Strides or Burrows twice.

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Drake Soil

This nutrient-rich dirt is the result of a prairie drake's breath weapon. The first time they use their breath weapon after a large meal, they the especially enriched soil they spew out is enough to fill a sack weighing 1 Bulk and worth 1 gp to a farmer or gardener. A plant creature can nestle itself in a sack of enriched drake soil for 10 minutes to regain 1d8 Hit Points, using up all of the soil's additional nutrients.

All Monsters in "Drake"

NameLevel
Desert Drake8
Flame Drake5
Frost Drake7
Jungle Drake6
Prairie Drake2
River Drake3
Sea Drake6
Shadow Drake2
Wyvern6

Drake

Source Bestiary pg. 130
Ravenous, bestial, and driven by instinct—drakes are primitive draconic monsters who bear a fraction of the terrifying might of their larger cousins but little (if any) of the cunning. While they’re weaker, slower, and less inclined toward reason than dragons, drakes are nonetheless a menace to creatures and settlements around them. Their propensity for forming raiding parties—small social groups fittingly called “rampages”—makes them all the more dangerous; a single rampage of river drakes can quickly lay waste to a waterside village, and roving rampages of desert drakes are a plague to caravan traders.

Drakes share a number of physical characteristics that unite them as one species despite their wide variety of habitats and abilities. For example, drakes lack forearms, leaving them only their formidable jaws and thick-scaled tails with which to attack if engaged at melee range. Most drakes would rather avoid close combat, however, preferring to use their breath weapons to wreak havoc in wide swaths from comfortable distances while flying overhead. Finally, all drakes have small reservoirs of their ancestral draconic power that they can tap into to perform incredible feats of speed.

Drake Eggs

While drake hides aren’t any more valuable than those of other, similarly sized creatures, drake eggs are prized commodities. While they are used as components in powerful spells as well as eaten by various cultures, the most common use for drake eggs is hatching and rearing drakes to serve as mounts and guardians.

A typical drake lays a clutch of 2d4 eggs every 5 years. Eggs hatch within 3 to 6 weeks, during which time they must be kept in conditions appropriate to their natural environment, perhaps the most difficult aspect of drake husbandry. While it is generally easy for breeders to incubate the eggs of desert or jungle drakes (which require mildly warm temperatures to hatch) or river drakes (which must be submerged in running water), the eggs of flame and frost drakes require extreme temperatures in order to hatch, which can be difficult to replicate safely.

A drake egg has Hardness 3, 5 HP, and BT 5. The coloration of drake eggs varies only slightly from one species to the next. A creature must succeed at a DC 20 Nature check, or a relevant DC 20 Lore check, to identify the drake species of a specific egg.

Once a drake hatches, it imprints on the first creature that it sees. A creature imprinted on in this way gains a +5 bonus to Nature checks to train or command that drake. The market price of a drake egg varies depending on the region, the type of drake, and the exact purpose the buyer has in mind, but typically depends on the level of the drake. Because drakes are evil, dangerous, and intelligent creatures, many societies do not condone the trade of drake eggs and criminalize those who engage in it.

It takes 2 years for a drake hatchling to grow to full size. A well-trained drake can make a fearsome mount or guardian, but many careless would-be drake trainers are devoured by their charges due to cruelty, overconfidence, or general lack of skill.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Drake Ecology

Drakes reach maturity and reproduce much earlier than dragons, meaning that they are a far more common threat than their more powerful forebears. Drakes have few qualms about dwelling with one another (provided they are the same species), often establishing dens in pockets of wilderness suitable to their needs, such as swampy grottoes, shallow shoreline caves, or cliffside perches.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Drake Hunters

The allure of hunting a dragon is difficult to resist for many adventurers, but accomplishing such a task is fraught with peril. Unscrupulous adventurers have been known to instead hunt drakes and use trophies harvested from these creatures to deceive locals.

Sidebar - Locations Drake Locations

While the different species of drakes are adapted to different climates and environments, many drakes share similar preferences regarding nest location, searching out high places that offer cover from above, such as cliffside or mountaintop caverns, jungle canopies, and so on.

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Drake Resources

While every adventurer knows that dragon hide can be crafted into potent armor or weapons, drake hide holds no such intrinsic value. Nonetheless, drake scales and horns are physically impressive, and to the uneducated buyer, might seem at first glance to be legitimate. Unscrupulous leatherworkers have been known to use drake hides to craft and sell counterfeit dragonhide armor, so potential buyers should remain on the lookout for scams.

Sidebar - Treasure and Rewards Drake Treasure

Drakes share dragon’s interest in treasure, but lack dragons’ discerning taste. A drake hoard will certainly contain coins, jewelry, gemstones, gear, and even the odd magic item or two, but the bulk of the hoard invariably consists of broken weapons, shiny rocks, bits of junk, and other doubtful pieces of refuse.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Drakes and Dragons

Although drakes and dragons are related to one another, little love is lost between them, and even the most territorial drakes know better than to remain in a dragon's territory longer than they have to. In rare cases, large rampages of drakes band together to attack an encroaching dragon, especially if the dragon is young and inexperienced.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Drakes

The drakes presented on these pages are far from the only types that exist. Forest drakes have green hides, spit acidic clouds, and can be found in temperate woodlands. Rift drakes, among the most powerful of their kind, spit clinging caustic vapors and dwell in badlands and regions scarred by devastating magical disasters. Sea drakes can be found in oceans across the world, lava drakes in volcanic crevasses, mist drakes along coastlines and in salt marshes, and spire drakes in ragged, rocky hills. Undoubtedly, many other types of drakes lurk in the far corners of the world!